In vitro fertilisation (or fertilization; IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a liquid in a laboratory. The fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, and is then transferred to the same or another woman's uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. IVF is a type of assisted reproductive technology used for infertility treatment and gestational surrogacy, in which a fertilized egg is implanted into a surrogate's uterus, and the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the surrogate.